Methods and systems for contextual adjustment of thresholds of user interestedness for triggering video recording

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein are methods and systems for contextual adjustment of thresholds of user interestedness for triggering video recording. An embodiment takes the form of a method that includes identifying one or more current contextual attributes of a current context of a user. The method also includes setting a current value of a stored interestedness threshold based at least in part on the one or more identified current contextual attributes. The method also includes obtaining one or more current physiological measurements of the user. The method also includes deriving an interestedness score based at least in part on the one or more obtained current physiological measurements. The method also includes comparing the derived interestedness score to the current value of the stored interestedness threshold. The method also includes initiating video recording when the derived interestedness score exceeds the current value of the stored interestedness threshold.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.62/001,478, filed May 21, 2014, entitled “METHODS AND SYSTEMS FORCONTEXTUAL ADJUSTMENT OF THRESHOLDS OF USER INTERESTEDNESS FORTRIGGERING VIDEO RECORDING”, reference of which is hereby incorporatedin its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Millions of people make daily use of portable computing andcommunication devices, many of which can accurately be characterized aswireless-communication devices (WCDs) in that they are equipped,programmed, and configured such that they are able to engage in wirelesscommunication with one or more other devices, directly and/or via one ormore radio access networks (RANs). These WCDs typically engage in thesecommunications according to one or more protocols such as Long TermEvolution (LTE), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), WiMAX,Wi-Fi, Bluetooth®, and/or the like.

In order to facilitate these communications, a given RAN typicallyincludes one or more entities often known by terms such as base station,eNodeB, wireless access point, and the like. As is known in the art,these entities are in turn connected to one or more core-networkentities, which themselves are connected to one or more transport and/orsignaling networks such as the Internet, the public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN), and the like.

Moreover, another burgeoning area of technology is that of wearablecomputing and communication devices (also known by terms such aswearable computers, wearables, and the like), some examples of whichtake forms that are similar to eyeglasses, wristwatches, wristbands, andthe like. Various different wearables are worn for a variety ofdifferent reasons, some examples of which are increased and/or moreconvenient functionality (e.g., hands-free capturing of pictures andvideo), monitoring health, improving fitness, and the like. Consistentwith such uses, many wearables are equipped with one or more sensorsthat are configured to carry out functions such as monitoring heart rate(i.e., pulse), monitoring blood pressure, monitoring body temperature,gaze tracking, and the like.

Many wearables are capable of engaging in one or more forms ofshort-range and/or long-range wireless communication, and thus it canaccurately be said that some wearables are or include WCDs. For example,many wearables engage in short-range wireless communications with whatmay fairly be described as a user's primary WCD (e.g., smartphone,tablet, or the like) according to near-field communication (NFC)protocols such as Bluetooth® and the like. As another example, manywearables engage in relatively more long-range wireless communicationwith one or more cellular networks (i.e., wireless wide area networks(WWANs)) according to protocols such as LTE, GSM, and the like.Moreover, some wearable computers are equipped, programmed, andconfigured to be able to engage in both short-range wirelesscommunication and long-range wireless communication. And many WCDs, bethey wearables or not, are equipped to communicate with one or moreperipheral wearable devices that may have one or more sensors such asthose described. At times, terms such as Body Area Networks (BANs) areused to describe groups of communicatively connected devices located onor about (e.g., on the clothing of) particular users.

Another up-and-coming area of technology is often referred to as“affective technology,” which is designed to infer one or more emotions(i.e., emotional states, moods, and/or the like) of its user and/or oneor more other people. In some instances, affective-technology devicesmake such inferences based at least in part on one or more physiologicalparameters such as heart rate, pupil dilation, and the like (i.e.,biometric data). In some examples, affective-technology devices compareabsolute values of such parameters with thresholds. In some examples,these devices compare changes (i.e., deltas) in the values—perhaps overa limited period of time (i.e., sufficiently sudden changes)—of suchparameters with thresholds. In some instances, affective-technologydevices infer one or more emotions of one or more people at least inpart by detecting one or more facial expressions. And certainly otherapproaches are used as well.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more detailed understanding may be had from the following description,presented by way of example in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, brief descriptions of which are listed below.

FIG. 1A depicts an example communications system in which at least oneembodiment may be implemented.

FIG. 1B depicts an example wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) thatmay be used within the example communications system of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 1C depicts a first example radio access network (RAN) and a firstexample core network that may be used within the example communicationssystem of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 1D depicts a second example RAN and a second example core networkthat may be used within the example communications system of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 1E depicts a third example RAN and a third example core networkthat may be used within the example communications system of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 1F depicts an example network entity that may be used within theexample communication system of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2 depicts a first view of an example system, in accordance with atleast one embodiment.

FIG. 3 depicts the example system of FIG. 2 in communication withmultiple peripheral devices, in accordance with at least one embodiment.

FIG. 4 depicts a second view of the example system of FIG. 2, inaccordance with at least one embodiment.

FIG. 5 depicts a first one of the modules of the example system of FIG.2 (as that example system is depicted in FIG. 4), receiving informationfrom multiple other modules, in accordance with at least one embodiment.

FIG. 6 depicts a second one of the modules of the example system of FIG.2 (as that example system is depicted in FIG. 4), receiving informationfrom multiple other modules, in accordance with at least one embodiment.

FIG. 7 depicts an example method, in accordance with at least oneembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Many personal computing devices, be they handheld devices such assmartphones and tablets, wearable devices that resemble eyeglasses, oranother type of device, have the capability of recording video. Indeed,some such devices are configured, at least in their default state, tocontinuously record video, resulting in a user having a great deal ofvideo data through which to search in order to find one or more segmentsof video pertaining to something in which the user is interested (or wasinterested, or remembers being interested, etc.). Some devices areconfigured to record video in response to user commands, often resultingin users forgetting or otherwise failing to initiate video recordingwhen something is happening that is of interest to the user. As such,many users experience one or both of the following frustrations: havingtoo much captured video through which to sift and not having enoughcaptured video of events that are interesting to that user.

To address those issues as well as others, disclosed herein are methodsand systems for contextual adjustment of thresholds of userinterestedness for triggering video recording. The presently disclosedmethods and systems spring at least in part from a realization made bythe inventor of the importance of context when automating the capture ofvideo based on data—e.g., physiological data—that is being used as abasis for inferring that a given user is in a heightened state ofinterestedness with respect to the scene at which the user is looking.Indeed, one of the insights made by the inventor is that the samebiometric data (i.e., a set of one or more respective values of one ormore physiological parameters) very often means different things indifferent contexts with respect to inferring that a user is interestedin something and responsively initiating video recording.

Moreover, it is noted that initiating video recording takes differentforms in different embodiments, a few examples including transitioning avideo-recording function from an “off” state to an “on” state,bookmarking one or more points in a video stream that is beingcontinuously captured (i.e., where a video-recording function is always(or substantially always) in an “on” state). And certainly otherexamples could be listed as well.

With respect to the above-made point that the same biometric data veryoften means different things in different contexts with respect toinferring that a user is interested in something, this is another way ofstating the insight made by the inventor that physiological readings cango up and down due to factors that do not relate to the level ofinterestedness that the user has in a particular scene at a particularmoment. As one example, a user that is working from home and hastwo-year old twins in the background may have elevated readings forblood pressure and skin conductivity while answering a routine e-mail.That biometric data does not necessarily imply that the user's level ofinterestedness in that particular e-mail is high. As other examples, auser may have one or more elevated biometric readings because they arein a loud place, because they are in a crowded place, because they arelate for an important calendar event, and/or for one or more otherreasons that do not necessarily imply that the user has a heightenedlevel of interestedness in the particular scene at which they arelooking at that moment. And certainly other examples could be listed.

As such, in accordance with at least one embodiment, a level ofinterestedness of a user in a scene at which that user is looking isdetermined using the user's biometric data, and that level of interestis then evaluated—for purposes of starting (or stopping) the recordingof video—against a threshold that is selected based at least in part onthe user's current situational context. As such, and by way of example,an inferred biometric-interestedness score (i.e., the level ofinterestedness inferred from biometric data) required to initiate videorecording when a user is driving their car to work could be differentfrom the inferred biometric-interestedness score required to initiatevideo recording when that same user is driving that same car home fromwork. As another example, the interestedness score required to initiatevideo recording while a user is sitting on a quiet park bench could bedifferent from the interestedness score required to initiate videorecording while the user is grocery shopping at a busy market on aSaturday afternoon. And other examples could be listed.

One embodiment takes the form of a method that includes identifying oneor more current contextual attributes of a current context of a user;setting a current value of a stored interestedness threshold based atleast in part on the one or more identified current contextualattributes; obtaining one or more current physiological measurements ofthe user; deriving an interestedness score based at least in part on theone or more obtained current physiological measurements; comparing thederived interestedness score to the current value of the storedinterestedness threshold; and initiating video recording when thederived score exceeds the current value of the stored threshold.

One embodiment takes the form of a system that includes a situationalmodule, a biometrics module, a video-recording module, and an evaluationmodule. The situational module is configured to identify one or morecurrent contextual attributes of a current context of a user. Thebiometrics module is configured to obtain one or more currentphysiological measurements of the user. The video-recording module isconfigured to initiate video recording upon receipt of avideo-recording-initiate command. The evaluation module is configuredto: set a current value of a stored interestedness threshold based atleast in part on the one or more identified current contextualattributes; derive an interestedness score based at least in part on theone or more obtained current physiological measurements; compare thederived interestedness score to the current value of the storedinterestedness threshold, and transmit a video-recording-initiatecommand to the video-recording module when the derived score exceeds thecurrent value of the stored threshold.

In various different embodiments, the one or more current contextualattributes include one or more of a current location, a crowdednesslevel, and a noisiness level.

In at least one embodiment, the one or more current contextualattributes include a stored calendar event. In at least one suchembodiment, the stored calendar event has an associated scheduled starttime that is less than a first threshold amount of time after thecurrent time. In at least one such embodiment, the stored calendar eventhas an associated scheduled start time that precedes the current time.In at least one such embodiment, the stored calendar event has apriority level that exceeds a stored priority-level threshold.

In at least one embodiment, the current value of the storedinterestedness threshold exceeds an immediately preceding value of thestored interestedness threshold. In at least one embodiment, the currentvalue of the stored interestedness threshold is less than an immediatelypreceding value of the stored interestedness threshold.

In at least one embodiment, the one or more current physiologicalmeasurements includes one or both of a current facial expression and arecently assumed posture. In at least one embodiment, the one or morecurrent physiological measurements indicate one or more of a currentrespiration rate, a current heart rate, a current blood-pressure level,a current level of skin conductivity, a current body temperature, and acurrent electroencephalography (EEG), measurement.

In at least one embodiment, deriving the interestedness score based atleast in part on the one or more obtained current physiologicalmeasurements includes using historical physiological measurements tonormalize the one or more obtained current physiological measurements.In at least one embodiment, deriving the interestedness score based atleast in part on the one or more obtained current physiologicalmeasurements includes referencing correlation data that maps sets of oneor more values of physiological measurements to respectiveinterestedness scores.

In at least one embodiment, the following functions are carried out:deriving a second interestedness score, comparing the secondinterestedness score to a second threshold, and terminating videorecording when the second interestedness score does not exceed thesecond threshold. In at least one such embodiment, the second thresholdis equal to the stored interestedness threshold. In at least one suchembodiment, the second threshold is not equal to the storedinterestedness threshold.

In at least one embodiment, the following function is carried out:terminating video recording responsive to receiving a video-terminatecommand via a user interface. In at least one embodiment, the followingfunction is carried out: terminating video recording after a timeoutperiod.

Any of the variations and permutations described in the precedingparagraphs and/or anywhere else in this disclosure in connection withvarious different (method and/or system) embodiments can be implementedwith respect to any embodiments, including with respect to any methodembodiments and with respect to any system embodiments.

It is also noted that, in this disclosure, various elements of one ormore of the described embodiments are referred to as “modules” thatcarry out (i.e., perform, execute, and the like) various functions thatare described herein in connection with the respective modules. As usedherein, a module includes any necessary hardware (e.g., one or moreprocessors, one or more microprocessors, one or more microcontrollers,one or more microchips, one or more application-specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),one or more memory devices, and/or one or more of any other type ortypes of devices and/or components) deemed suitable by those of skill inthe relevant art for a given implementation. Each described module alsoincludes (or at least has access to) any necessary instructionsexecutable for carrying out the one or more functions described as beingcarried out by the respective module, and it is noted that thoseinstructions could take the form of or include hardware (i.e.,hardwired) instructions, firmware instructions, software instructions,and/or the like, and may be stored in any suitable non-transitorycomputer-readable medium or media.

Further description of illustrative embodiments is provided below withreference to the various figures. And although this description providesdetailed examples pertaining to various possible implementations, itshould be noted that these provided details are intended to be by way ofexample and in no way to limit the scope of the application.

The next portion of the disclosure includes description of FIGS. 1A-1F,which in general depict various architectures and arrangements forcommunications systems in which one or more embodiments could be carriedout. It is explicitly noted, however, that such communications systems(e.g., one or more WWANs) are not necessary in connection with allembodiments. Indeed, some embodiments are carried out by a system (e.g.,a wearable computing system) that does not have any WWAN-communicationcapability, and indeed some embodiments are carried out by systemshaving no wireless-communication capability. Some such systems may havea wired-communication interface such as a USB port or the like, thoughthis is optional as well. In general, at least one embodiment is carriedout by a computing system (e.g., a wearable system) having no capabilityof communicating with any other computing or communication device.

FIG. 1A is a diagram of an example communications system 100 in which atleast one embodiment may be implemented. In at least one embodiment, thecommunications system 100 is a multiple access system that providescontent, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, and the like,to multiple wireless users. In at least one embodiment, thecommunications system 100 enables multiple wireless users to access suchcontent through the sharing of system resources, including wirelessbandwidth. The communications systems 100 may employ one or moremultiple-access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA),time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access(FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), and thelike.

As depicted in FIG. 1A, the communications system 100 includes WTRUs 102a-d (which generally or collectively may be referred to as WTRU 102, andeach of which is a type of WCD as that term is used herein), a RAN103/104/105, a core network 106/107/109, the PSTN 108, the Internet 110,and other networks 112, though it will be appreciated that the disclosedembodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks,and/or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102 a-d may be any type ofdevice configured to operate and/or communicate in a wirelessenvironment. By way of example, the WTRUs 102 a-d may be configured totransmit and/or receive wireless signals and may each be or include oneor more of a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a subscriber unit, apager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), asmartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wearablecomputing device (e.g., glasses, wristband, necklace etc.), a wirelesssensor, consumer electronics, and the like.

In the depicted embodiment, the communications system 100 also includesa base station 114 a and a base station 114 b, each of which may be anytype of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one ofthe WTRUs 102 a-d to facilitate access to one or more communicationnetworks, such as the core network 106/107/109, the Internet 110, and/orthe networks 112. Each of the base stations 114 a-b may be or includeone or more of a base transceiver station (BTS), a NodeB, an eNodeB, aHome NodeB, a Home eNodeB, a site controller, an access point, awireless router, and the like. While the base stations 114 a-b are eachdepicted as a single element, each may include any number ofinterconnected base stations and/or network elements.

The base station 114 a may be part of the RAN 103/104/105, which mayalso include other base stations and/or network elements (not shown),such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller(RNC), relay nodes, and the like. The base station 114 a and/or the basestation 114 b may be configured to transmit and/or receive wirelesssignals within a particular geographic region, which may be referred toas a cell (not shown). The cell may further be divided into sectors. Forexample, the cell associated with the base station 114 a may be dividedinto three sectors. Thus, in one embodiment, the base station 114 a mayinclude three transceivers, i.e., one for each sector of the cell. Inanother embodiment, the base station 114 a may employ multiple-inputmultiple output (MIMO) technology and, therefore, may utilize multipletransceivers for each sector of the cell.

In the depicted embodiment, the base stations 114 a-b communicate withthe WTRUs 102 a-d over an air interface 115/116/117, which may be anysuitable wireless link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, infrared(IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, and the like). The air interface115/116/117 may be established using any radio access technology (RAT)deemed suitable by those of skill in the art for a given implementation.

As noted above, in at least one embodiment, the communications system100 is a multiple-access system, and accordingly employs one or moremultiple-access schemes such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, andthe like. For example, the base station 114 a and the WTRUs 102 a-c mayimplement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish theair interface 115/116/117 using wideband CDMA (WCDMA), perhaps involvingthe use of protocols such as High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and/orEvolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed Downlink Packet Access(HSDPA) and/or High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA).

In another embodiment, the base station 114 a and the WTRUs 102 a-cimplement a radio technology known as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), which mayestablish the air interface 115/116/117 using LTE and/or LTE-Advanced(LTE-A).

In other embodiments, the base station 114 a and the WTRUs 102 a-cimplement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.16 (i.e., WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1X,CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95(IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), GSM, Enhanced Data rates for GSMEvolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like.

The base station 114 b could be a wireless router, Home Node B, HomeeNodeB, or access point, as examples, and may utilize any suitable RATfor facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as aplace of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, and the like. In oneembodiment, the base station 114 b and the WTRUs 102 c-d implement aradio technology known as IEEE 802.11 to establish a wireless local areanetwork (WLAN). In another embodiment, the base station 114 b and theWTRUs 102 c-d implement a radio technology known as IEEE 802.15 toestablish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yet anotherembodiment, the base station 114 b and the WTRUs 102 c-d utilize acellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, and thelike) to establish a picocell, femtocell, or the like. As shown in FIG.1A, the base station 114 b may have a direct connection to the Internet110. Thus, the base station 114 b may not only be able to access theInternet 110 via the core network 106/107/109.

In the embodiment that is depicted in FIG. 1A, the RAN 103/104/105 is incommunication with the core network 106/107/109, which may be any typeof network configured to provide voice, data, applications, voice overinternet protocol (VoIP) services, and/or the like to one or more of theWTRUs 102 a-d. As examples, the core network 106/107/109 may providecall control, billing services, mobile location-based services, pre-paidcalling, Internet connectivity, video distribution, and the like, and/orperform high-level security functions, such as user authentication.Although not shown in FIG. 1A, it will be appreciated that the RAN103/104/105 and/or the core network 106/107/109 may be in direct orindirect communication with other RANs that employ the same RAT as theRAN 103/104/105 or a different RAT. For example, in addition to beingconnected to the RAN 103/104/105, which may be utilizing an E-UTRA radiotechnology, the core network 106/107/109 may also be in communicationwith another RAN (not shown) employing a GSM radio technology. Andcertainly many other examples could be listed.

In the depicted embodiment, the core network 106/107/109 also serves asa gateway for the WTRUs 102 a-d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet110, and/or the other networks 112. The PSTN 108 may includecircuit-switched telephone networks that provide plain old telephoneservice (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system ofinterconnected computer networks and devices that use commoncommunication protocols, such as transmission control protocol (TCP),user datagram protocol (UDP), and Internet Protocol (IP) in the TCP/IPInternet protocol suite. The networks 112 may include wired and/orwireless communications networks owned and/or operated by other serviceproviders. As one example, the other networks 112 may include anothercore network connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the sameRAT or a different RAT as the RAT that is employed by the RAN103/104/105.

Some or all of the WTRUs 102 a-d in the communications system 100 mayinclude multi-mode capabilities; e.g., the WTRUs 102 a-d may includemultiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networksover different wireless links. For example, the WTRU 102 c may beconfigured to communicate with the base station 114 a, which may use acellular technology, and with the base station 114 b, which may use anIEEE 802 technology. And certainly many other examples could be listed.

FIG. 1B depicts an example WTRU that may be used within the examplecommunication system 100 of FIG. 1A. The example WTRU 102 includes aprocessor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit/receive element 122, aspeaker/microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display/touchpad 128, anon-removable memory 130, a removable memory 132, a power source 134, aglobal positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and other peripherals 138.It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may include any sub-combinationof the foregoing elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.Also, embodiments contemplate that the base stations 114 a and 114 b,and/or the nodes that either or both of the base stations 114 a and 114b may represent, such as but not limited to a BTS, a NodeB, a homeNodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a Home evolved NodeB (HeNB), an HeNBgateway, a site controller, an access point, a proxy node, among others,may include some or all of the elements depicted in FIG. 1B anddescribed herein.

In at least one embodiment, the processor 118 is or at least includesone or more instances of one or more of the following: general-purposeprocessors, special-purpose processors, digital signal processors(DSPs), microprocessors (e.g., with a DSP core), controllers,microcontrollers, ASICs, FPGAs, other types of integrated circuits(ICs), state machines, and the like. The processor 118 may performsignal coding, data processing, power control, input/output processing,and/or any other functions that enable the WTRU 102 to operate in awireless environment. In at least one embodiment, the processor 118 iscoupled to the transceiver 120, which in turn is coupled to thetransmit/receive element 122. And though FIG. 1B depicts the processor118 and the transceiver 120 as separate components, they could beintegrated together, as known in the art.

In at least one embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 isconfigured to transmit signals to and receive signals from a basestation (e.g., the base station 114 a) over the air interface115/116/117. In one embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 is orincludes an antenna that is configured to transmit and/or receive RFsignals. In another embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 is orincludes an emitter/detector that is configured to transmit and/orreceive IR, UV, or visible-light signals, and/or the like. In yetanother embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 is configured totransmit and receive both RF and light signals. It will be appreciatedthat the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmitand/or receive any combination of wireless signals. Moreover, althoughthe WTRU 102 is depicted in FIG. 1B as including a singletransmit/receive element 122, the WTRU 102 may include any number oftransmit/receive elements 122. As an example, the WTRU 102 may employMIMO technology, and in an embodiment includes multiple transmit/receiveelements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receivingwireless signals over the air interface 115/116/117.

The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate the signals that areto be transmitted by the transmit/receive element 122 and to demodulatethe signals that are received by the transmit/receive element 122. Asnoted above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, thetransceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU102 to communicate in accordance with multiple RATs, such as UTRA andIEEE 802.11, as examples.

In various different embodiments, the processor 118 is coupled to andreceives user-input data from the speaker/microphone 124, the keypad126, and/or the display/touchpad 128 (which may include a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), and/or the like).In various different embodiments, the processor 118 outputs user data tothe speaker/microphone 124, the keypad 126, and/or the display/touchpad128. Moreover, the processor 118 may access data from and store data inany type of suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory 130 and/orthe removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may include oneor more of random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), a harddisk, and the like. The removable memory 132 may include one or more ofa subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a securedigital (SD) memory card, and the like. In some embodiments, theprocessor 118 accesses data from and stores data in memory that is notphysically located on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a homecomputer (not shown), as just a few examples.

The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134, and maybe configured to distribute and/or control the distribution of thatpower to one or more of the other components of the WTRU 102. The powersource 134 may be any suitable device for powering the WTRU 102, someexamples including dry-cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd),nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion),and the like), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which maybe configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude andlatitude) regarding the WTRU 102. In addition to, or perhaps in lieu of,the information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU 102 may receivelocation information over the air interface 115/116/117 from one or morebase stations and/or may determine its location based on the timing ofvarious signals from two or more nearby base stations. It will beappreciated that the WTRU 102 may acquire location information by way ofany suitable location-determination method while remaining consistentwith an embodiment.

The processor 118 may further be coupled to other peripherals 138, whichmay include one or more software and/or hardware modules that provideadditional features, functionality and/or wired or wirelessconnectivity. As examples, the peripherals 138 may include one or moreof an accelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digitalcamera (for photographs or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, avibration device, a television transceiver, a hands-free headset, aBluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digitalmusic player, a media player, a video game player module, a web browser,and the like.

FIG. 1C depicts a first example RAN and a first example core networkthat may be used within the example communication system 100 of FIG. 1A.As noted, the RAN 103 may employ a UTRA radio technology to communicatewith the WTRUs 102 a-c over the air interface 115. In the depictedembodiment, the RAN 103 is in communication with the core network 106and includes NodeBs 140 a-c that may each include one or moretransceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102 a-c over the airinterface 115. The NodeBs 140 a-c may each be associated with aparticular cell (not shown) within the RAN 103. In the depictedembodiment, the RAN 103 also includes RNCs 142 a-b. Moreover, those ofskill in the relevant art will appreciate that the RAN 103 may includeany number of NodeBs and RNCs while remaining consistent with anembodiment.

In the depicted embodiment, the NodeBs 140 a-b communicate with the RNC142 a, and the NodeB 140 c communicates with the RNC 142 b. The NodeBs140 a-c communicate with the respective RNCs 142 a-b via an Iubinterface, and the RNCs 142 a-b communicate with each other via an Iurinterface. Each of the RNCs 142 a-b may be configured to control therespective NodeBs 140 a-c to which it is connected, and may also beconfigured to carry out or at least support other functions such asouter-loop power control, load control, admission control, packetscheduling, handover control, macrodiversity, security functions, dataencryption, and the like.

In the depicted embodiment, the core network 106 includes a mediagateway (MGW) 144, a mobile switching center (MSC) 146, a serving GPRSsupport node (SGSN) 148, and a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) 150. Andalthough each of those elements is depicted as being part of the corenetwork 106, it will be appreciated that one or more of these elementscould be owned and/or operated by an entity other than that whichoperates the core network 106.

In the depicted embodiment, the RNC 142 a is connected via an IuCSinterface to the MSC 146, which in turn is connected to the MGW 144. TheMSC 146 and the MGW 144 cooperate to provide the WTRUs 102 a-c withaccess to circuit-switched networks such as the PSTN 108. In addition,the RNC 142 a is connected via an IuPS interface to the SGSN 148, whichin turn is connected to the GGSN 150. The SGSN 148 and the GGSN 150cooperate to provide the WTRUs 102 a-c with access to packet-switchednetworks such as the Internet 110. And as noted, the core network 106may also be connected to the other networks 112, which may include otherwired and/or wireless networks that may be respectively owned and/oroperated by one or more service providers other than that which ownsand/or that which operates the core network 106.

FIG. 1D depicts a second example RAN and a second example core networkthat may be used within the example communication system 100 of FIG. 1A.As noted, the RAN 104 may employ an E-UTRA radio technology tocommunicate with the WTRUs 102 a-c over the air interface 116. In theembodiment that is depicted in FIG. 1D, the RAN 104 is in communicationwith the core network 107 and includes eNodeBs 160 a-c, though it willbe appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNodeBs. Eachof the eNodeBs 160 a-c may include one or more transceivers forcommunicating with the WTRUs 102 a-c over the air interface 116. In oneembodiment, the eNodeBs 160 a-c implement MIMO technology, each usingmultiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to and receive wirelesssignals from the WTRUs 102 a-c.

Each of the eNodeBs 160 a-c may be associated with a particular cell(not shown) and may be configured to handle radio-resource-managementdecisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the uplink and/ordownlink, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1D, the eNodeBs 160 a-c maycommunicate with one another over an X2 interface.

In at least one embodiment, the core network 107 includes a mobilitymanagement entity (MME) 162, a serving gateway 164, and a packet datanetwork (PDN) gateway 166. And although each of those elements isdepicted as being part of the core network 107, it will be appreciatedthat one or more of these elements could be owned and/or operated by anentity other than that which operates and/or that which owns the corenetwork 107.

In the depicted embodiment, the MME 162 is connected to each of theeNodeBs 160 a-c via an S1 interface; the MME 162 may serve as a controlnode that provides functions such as authentication, bearer activationand deactivation, selection of serving gateways during initial-attachprocedures, and the like. In some embodiments, the MME 162 provides acontrol-plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs(not shown) that employ other RATs.

In the depicted embodiment, the serving gateway 164 is connected to eachof the eNodeBs 160 a-c via an S1 interface, and in general may route andforward user data packets to and from the WTRUs 102 a-c. The servinggateway 164 may also carry out other functions such as anchoring userplanes during inter-eNodeB handovers, triggering paging when downlinkdata is available for the WTRUs 102 a-c, managing and storing contextsof the WTRUs 102 a-c, and the like. The serving gateway 164 is alsoconnected to the PDN gateway 166, which may provide the WTRUs 102 a-cwith access to packet-switched networks such as the Internet 110.

Indeed, in various embodiments, the core network 107 facilitatescommunications between the WTRUs 102 a-c and circuit-switched networkssuch as the PSTN 108 (via, e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS)),packet-switched networks such as the Internet 110, and/or other networks112, which may include other wired and/or wireless networks that may berespectively owned and/or operated by one or more service providersother than that which owns and/or that which operates the core network107.

FIG. lE depicts a third example RAN and a third example core networkthat may be used within the example communications system 100 of FIG.1A. In an embodiment, the RAN 105 is an access service network (ASN)that employs IEEE 802.16 radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs102 a-c over the air interface 117. As is further discussed below, thecommunication links between the different functional entities of theWTRUs 102 a-c, the RAN 105, and the core network 109 may be defined asreference points, as known to those of skill in the relevant art.

In the embodiment that is depicted in FIG. 1E, the RAN 105 includes basestations 180 a-c and an ASN gateway 182, though it will be appreciatedthat the RAN 105 may include any number of base stations and ASNgateways. Each of the base stations 180 a-c may be associated with aparticular cell (not shown) in the RAN 105, and each may include one ormore transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102 a-c over the airinterface 117. In at least one embodiment, the base stations 180 a-cimplement MIMO technology, each using multiple antennas to transmitwireless signals to and receive wireless signals from the WTRUs 102 a-c.In various different embodiments, the base stations 180 a-c also provideone or more mobility-management functions such as handoff triggering,tunnel establishment, radio-resource management, traffic classification,quality-of-service (QoS) policy enforcement, and the like. In at leastone embodiment, the ASN gateway 182 serves as a traffic-aggregationpoint and may provide one or more functions such as paging, caching ofsubscriber profiles, routing to the core network 109, and the like.

In at least one embodiment, the air interface 117 is defined as an R1reference point that implements the IEEE 802.16 specification, and eachof the WTRUs 102 a-c establish a logical interface (not shown) with thecore network 109, where that logical interface may be defined as an R2reference point (not shown) and may be used for one or more functionssuch as authentication, authorization, IP-host-configuration management,mobility management, and the like.

In the depicted embodiment, the link between each of the base stations180 a-c is defined as an R8 reference point that includes protocols forfacilitating functions such as WTRU handovers, the transfer of databetween base stations, and the like. The link between each respectivebase station 180 a-c and the ASN gateway 182 is defined as an R6reference point that includes protocols for facilitating mobilitymanagement based on mobility events associated with the WTRUs 102 a-c.

In the embodiment that is depicted in FIG. 1E, the RAN 105 is connectedto the core network 109 via a link that is defined as an R3 referencepoint that includes protocols for facilitating data transfer andmobility-management capabilities, as examples. In the depictedembodiment, the core network 109 includes a mobile-IP home agent(MIP-HA) 184, an authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA)server 186, and a gateway 188. And although each of those elements isdepicted as being part of the core network 109, it will be appreciatedthat one or more of these elements could be owned and/or operated by anentity other than that which operates and/or that which owns the corenetwork 109.

In at least one embodiment, the MIP-HA 184 carries out one or morefunctions such as IP-address management, enabling roaming betweendifferent ASNs and/or different core networks, providing access topacket-switched networks such as the Internet 110, and the like. In atleast one embodiment, the AAA server 186 carries out one or morefunctions such as user authentication, supporting user services, and thelike. In at least one embodiment, the gateway 188 facilitatesinterworking with circuit-switched networks such as the PSTN 108,packet-switched networks such as the Internet 110, and other networks112, which may include other wired and/or wireless networks that may berespectively owned and/or operated by one or more service providersother than that which owns and/or that which operates the core network109.

Furthermore, although not depicted as such in FIG. 1E, those of skill inthe art will appreciate that the RAN 105 may be connected to other ASNs,and that the core network 109 may be connected to other core networks.In at least one embodiment, a link between the RAN 105 and another ASNwould be defined as an R4 reference point that includes protocols forfunctions such as coordinating mobility between the RAN 105 and theother ASN. And in at least one embodiment, a link between the corenetwork 109 and another core network would be defined as an R5 referencepoint that includes protocols for functions such as facilitatinginterworking between home core networks and visited core networks.

FIG. 1F depicts an example network entity that may be used within theexample communication system 100 of FIG. 1A. As depicted in FIG. 1F, thenetwork entity 190 includes a communication interface 192, a processor194, and non-transitory data storage 196, all of which arecommunicatively linked by a bus, network, or other communication path198. The network entity 190 is provided as an example of thearchitecture, structure, arrangement, and the like that any of theentities described in connection with FIGS. 1A-1E could take.

The communication interface 192 may include one or morewired-communication interfaces and/or one or more wireless-communicationinterfaces. With respect to wired communication, the communicationinterface 192 may include one or more interfaces such as Ethernetinterfaces, as an example. With respect to wireless communication, thecommunication interface 192 may include components such as one or moreantennae, one or more transceivers and/or chipsets designed andconfigured for one or more types of wireless communication (e.g., LTE,Wi-Fi, and/or the like), and/or any other components deemed suitable bythose of skill in the relevant art. And further with respect to wirelesscommunication, the communication interface 192 may be equipped at ascale and with a configuration appropriate for acting on the networkside, as opposed to the client side, of wireless communications. Thus,in at least one embodiment, the communication interface 192 includes theappropriate equipment and circuitry for serving multiple WTRUs.

The processor 194 may include one or more processors of any type deemedsuitable by those of skill in the relevant art, some examples includinga general-purpose microprocessor and a dedicated DSP. The data storage196 may take the form of any non-transitory computer-readable medium orcombination of such media, some examples including flash memory, ROM,and RAM to name but a few, as any one or more types of non-transitorydata storage deemed suitable by those of skill in the relevant art couldbe used. As depicted in FIG. 1F, the data storage 196 contains programinstructions 197 executable by processor 194 for carrying out variouscombinations of the various network-entity functions described herein,and also contains device data 199, which may include or one or moreinstances of one or more of any type or types of data deemed suitable bythose of skill in the relevant art to facilitate the operation of thenetwork entity 190.

The next portion of the disclosure includes description of FIGS. 2-7,which in general depict various system embodiments and various methodembodiments.

FIG. 2 depicts a first view of an example system, in accordance with atleast one embodiment. In particular, FIG. 2 depicts an architecturalview of an example system 200 that itself represents a systemembodiment, and that could be arranged, programmed, and configured tocarry out one or more method embodiments. As can be seen in FIG. 2, theexample system 200 includes a communication interface 202, a processor204, a non-transitory data storage 206, and a user interface 208, all ofwhich are communicatively coupled with one another via a system bus (orother suitable connection, network, and/or the like) 210. It is notedthat the example system 200 could be implemented in a single device butcould just as well be implemented across multiple devices. It is furthernoted that both the communication interface 202 and the user interface208 are depicted using dashed lines rather than solid lines toexplicitly indicate that both of these are optional components—i.e.,that in at least one embodiment the system 200 does not include thecommunication interface 202, in at least one embodiment the system 200does not include the user interface 208, and in at least one embodimentthe system 200 includes neither.

In various different embodiments, the communication interface 202includes one or more wireless-communication interfaces (forcommunicating according to, e.g., LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and/or thelike) and/or one or more wired-communication interfaces (forcommunicating according to, e.g., Ethernet, USB, and/or the like), andin general includes any necessary hardware (e.g., chipsets, antennas,Ethernet cards, and/or the like), any necessary firmware, and anynecessary software for communicating with one or more other entities asdescribed herein.

In various different embodiments, the processor 204 includes one or moreprocessors of any type deemed suitable by those of skill in the art,some examples including a general-purpose microprocessor and a dedicatedDSP.

In various different embodiments, the data storage 206 includes one ormore instances of any suitable non-transitory computer-readable mediumor media, some examples including flash memory, ROM, and RAM to name buta few, as any one or more types of non-transitory data-storage deemedsuitable by those of skill in the relevant art could be used. Asdepicted in FIG. 2, the data storage 206 contains program instructions212 executable by the processor 204 for carrying out various functionsdescribed herein in connection with various embodiments, and alsocontains device data 214, which may include one or more instances of oneor more types of data deemed suitable by those of skill in the art tofacilitate the operation of the example system 200.

The user interface 208 may include one or more input devices (a.k.a.components and the like) and/or one or more output devices. With respectto input devices, the user interface 208 may include one or moretouchscreens, buttons, switches, microphones, and the like. With respectto output devices, the user interface 208 may include one or moredisplays, speakers, light emitting diodes (LEDs), and the like.Moreover, one or more components (e.g., an interactivetouchscreen-and-display component) of the user interface 208 couldprovide both user-input and user-output functionality. And certainlyother user-interface components could be implemented in a given context,as known to those of skill in the art.

FIG. 3 depicts the example system 200 of FIG. 2 in communication withmultiple peripheral devices, in accordance with at least one embodiment.In the embodiment that is depicted in FIG. 3, the example system 200 iscommunicatively connected to peripheral devices 302 a-d via respectivecommunication links (i.e., data connections) 312 a-d. One or more of theperipheral devices 302 a-d may have an architecture similar to thatdescribed above in connection with the example system 200 of FIG. 2. Oneor more of the peripheral devices 302 a-d may include (i) one or moresensors and/or one or more other data-gathering devices (e.g., a videocamera) and (ii) one or more communication interfaces.

As examples, the peripheral device 302 a could be a bracelet-like devicethat includes a sensor for measuring a pulse of a user, the peripheraldevice 302 b could include a blood-pressure sensor, the peripheraldevice 302 c could include a galvanic skin-conductivity sensor, and theperipheral device 302 d could include an accelerometer. And certainlymany other examples could be listed. Moreover, a given peripheral device302 a-d could include more than one sensor, data-gathering device (e.g.,a video camera), and/or the like. Moreover, each of the communicationlinks 312 a-d may include one or more wired-communication (e.g., USB)segments and/or one or more wireless-communication (e.g., Bluetooth®)segments. And certainly other example architectures and arrangementscould be implemented in various different contexts by those having skillin the relevant art.

FIG. 4 depicts a second view of the example system 200 of FIG. 2, inaccordance with at least one embodiment. In particular, FIG. 4 depicts afunctional view (whereas FIG. 2 depicted an architectural view) of theexample system 200. As depicted in FIG. 4, the system 200 includes asituational module 402, a biometrics module 404, an evaluation module406, and a video-recording module 408, each of which are furtherdiscussed below. As depicted, the evaluation module 406 is connectedwith the situational module 402 via a communication link 412 and withthe biometrics module 404 via a communication link 414. Thevideo-recording module 408 is connected with the evaluation module 406via a communication link 416. Each of the links 412-416 may include oneor more wired-communication segments and/or one or morewireless-communication segments. Modules 402-408 may be embodied in asingle device or among a plurality of devices.

The situational module 402 is further discussed below in connection withFIG. 5, and in at least one embodiment is configured to carry out step702 of the below-described method 700. The biometrics module 404 isfurther discussed below in connection with FIG. 6, and in at least oneembodiment is configured to carry out step 706 of the method 700. In atleast one embodiment, the evaluation module 406 is configured to carryout steps 704, 708, and 710. Moreover, in at least one embodiment, theevaluation module 406 and the video-recording module 408 are configuredto cooperatively carry out step 712, which, as discussed below, involvesinitiating video recording when a derived interestedness score exceedsthe current value of a stored interestedness threshold. Accordingly, inat least one embodiment, the evaluation module 406 is configured totransmit a video-recording-initiate command to the video-recordingmodule 408 when the derived interestedness score exceeds the currentvalue of the stored interestedness threshold, and the video-recordingmodule 408 is configured to initiate video recording upon receipt ofsuch a video-recording-initiate command.

FIG. 5 depicts a first one of the modules of the example system 200 ofFIG. 2 (as the system 200 is depicted in FIG. 4), receiving informationfrom multiple other modules, in accordance with at least one embodiment.In particular, FIG. 5 depicts an example arrangement 500 in which thesituational module 402 is connected with a location module 502 via alink 512, with a time module 504 via a link 514, with a calendar module506 via a link 516, and with an ambiance module 508 via a link 518. Eachof the modules 502-508 could be implemented as part of the system 200,as part of a peripheral device 302 a-d, and/or as part of one or moreother entities and/or devices, as deemed suitable by those of skill inthe relevant art. Moreover, the modules 502-508 are provided by way ofexample, and in various different embodiments, one or more of thosemodules may not be present, as deemed suitable by those of skill in therelevant art in a given context. Moreover, as is the case with the othercommunication links mentioned herein, each of the links 512-518 mayinclude one or more wired-communication segments and/or one or morewireless-communication segments.

The location module 502 may include a GPS device and/or one or moreother devices that alone or together function to determine a currentlocation, and to communicate that current location to the situationalmodule 402. The time module 504 determines a current time (which mayinclude a date, a day of the week, and/or the like), and communicatesthat current time to the situational module 402. The calendar module 506accesses calendar data from one or more calendars (e.g., a user'spersonal calendar, work calendar, and the like), where such calendardata represents constructs such as meetings, appointments, attendees,start times, stop times, reminders, and the like, as is known to thoseof skill in the relevant art; the calendar module 506 also communicatesthat calendar data to the situational module 402. The ambiance module508 may include a microphone and/or one or more other sensors, andfunctions to make determinations and/or gather data pertaining to acurrent environment in which a user is at a given moment; the ambiancemodule 508 also communicates those determinations and/or gathered datato the situational module 402; examples of information that the ambiancemodule 508 communicates to the situational module 402 in variousdifferent embodiments include a crowdedness level and a noisiness level,though certainly many other examples could be listed, as known to thoseof skill in the relevant art.

In some embodiments, the modules 502-508 may receive information from anexternal source. For example, the calendar module 506 may obtain eventinformation from an e-mail account associated with a user of the system200. The e-email account may include information relating to a meetingor event at a certain location and time. This information can beautomatically communicated to the calendar module for forwarding to thesituational module 402.

FIG. 6 depicts a second one of the modules of the example system 200 ofFIG. 2 (as the system 200 is depicted in FIG. 4), receiving informationfrom multiple other modules, in accordance with at least one embodiment.In particular, FIG. 6 depicts an example arrangement 600 in which thebiometrics module 404 is connected with a gyroscopic sensor 602 via alink 622, with a blood-pressure sensor 604 via a link 624, with aheart-rate sensor 606 via a link 626, with a user camera 608 via a link628, with a gaze-tracker module 610 via a link 630, with askin-conductivity sensor 612 via a link 632, and with an accelerometer614 via a link 634. Also, in the depicted embodiment, the gaze-trackermodule 610 is connected with the user camera 608 via a link 638. Forbrevity and not by way of limitation, the sensors and otherdata-gathering devices 602-614 are collectively referred to at timesherein as “the sensors 602-614,” each of which could be implemented aspart of the system 200, as part of a peripheral device 302 a-d, and/oras part of one or more other entities and/or devices, as deemed suitableby those of skill in the relevant art. Moreover, the sensors 602-614 areprovided by way of example, and in various different embodiments, one ormore of those sensors may not be present, as deemed suitable by those ofskill in the art. Moreover, as is the case with the other linksmentioned herein, each of the links 622-638 may include one or morewired-communication segments and/or one or more wireless-communicationsegments.

The gyroscopic sensor 602 may include one or more gyroscopes and/or oneor more other gyroscopic components, as known to those of skill in therelevant art; accordingly, in an embodiment, the gyroscopic sensor 602functions to determine the spatial orientation (and/or one or morechanges in the spatial orientation) of itself and thereforeinferentially of the device in which it resides and/or of a user. In anembodiment, the gyroscopic sensor 602 communicates such determinedinformation to the biometrics module 404.

The blood-pressure sensor 604 may include one or more components knownto those of skill in the art for taking one or more measurements of theblood pressure of a user; in an embodiment, the blood-pressure sensor604 communicates such determined information to the biometrics module404.

The heart-rate sensor 606 may include one or more components known tothose of skill in the art for taking one or more measurements of theheart rate (i.e., pulse) of a user; in an embodiment, the heart-ratesensor 606 communicates such determined information to the biometricsmodule 404.

The user camera 608 may include one or more cameras (e.g., one or moreimage-capturing cameras and/or one or more video-capturing cameras)trained towards the user of the example system 200. In some embodiments,the user camera 608 has a field of vision that includes one or both ofthe eyes of the user. In some embodiments, the user camera 608 has afield of vision that includes substantially all of the area of the faceof the user (or at least enough of that area to recognize one or morefacial expressions, pupil dilation, gestures, and/or the like). In anembodiment, the user camera 608 communicates such captured and/ordetermined data to the biometrics module 404. In at least oneembodiment, the user camera 608 communicates some or all of its capturedand/or determined data to the gaze-tracker module 610.

The gaze-tracker module 610 may include one or more communicationinterfaces for communicating with the user camera 608 over the link 638and for communicating with the biometrics module 404 over the link 630.In an embodiment, the user camera 608 captures image and/or video dataof one or both of a user's eyes, and transmits that data to thegaze-tracker module 610 via the link 638. The gaze-tracker module 610may include one or more image-data and/or video-data processors fordetermining from such data where in a field of vision a user was looking(i.e., gazing) at a given moment and/or for a given duration of time(e.g., perhaps the user stared at a particular point in their field ofvision for 10 consecutive seconds, likely indicating interest inwhatever they were looking at). In an embodiment, the gaze-trackermodule 610 communicates data indicative of one or more of suchdeterminations to the biometrics module 404.

The skin-conductivity sensor 612 may include one or more components(e.g., one or more galvanic sensors) known to those of skill in the artfor measuring the skin conductivity of a user; in an embodiment, theskin-conductivity sensor 612 further functions to communicate suchdetermined information to the biometrics module 404.

The accelerometer 614 may include one or more components known to thoseof skill in the relevant art for taking one or more measurements of aspatial and/or rotational acceleration (and/or one or more changes inacceleration) of itself and therefore inferentially of the device inwhich it resides and/or of a user; in an embodiment, the accelerometer614 further functions to communicate such determined information to thebiometrics module 404.

FIG. 7 depicts an example method, in accordance with at least oneembodiment. In particular, FIG. 7 depicts a method 700 that, in theensuing paragraphs, is described as being carried out by theabove-discussed example system 200. This manner of description, however,is by way of example and not limitation, as those of skill in therelevant art will appreciate that the example method 700 could becarried out by any suitably equipped, programmed, and configured deviceor set of devices.

As depicted in FIG. 7, the example method 700 includes six steps702-712. At step 702, the system 200 identifies one or more currentcontextual attributes of a current context of a user. At step 704, thesystem 200 sets a current value of a stored interestedness thresholdbased at least in part on the one or more identified current contextualattributes. At step 706, the system 200 obtains one or more currentphysiological measurements of the user. At step 708, the system 200derives an interestedness score based at least in part on the one ormore obtained current physiological measurements. At step 710, thesystem 200 compares the derived interestedness score to the currentvalue of the stored interestedness threshold. Each of these steps isfurther discussed below.

At step 702, the system 200 identifies one or more current contextualattributes of a current context (i.e., situation, including but notlimited to place, time, time of day, and/or the like) of a user. In atleast one embodiment, the one or more current contextual attributesincludes a current location. In such an embodiment, the system 200 mayreceive current-location data into the situational module 402 from thelocation module 502 via the link 512.

In at least one embodiment, the one or more current contextualattributes includes a noisiness level. In such an embodiment, the system200 may receive current-noisiness data into the situational module 402from the ambiance module 508 via the link 518. In an embodiment, theambiance module 508 detects levels of ambient noise using a microphoneand/or one or more other components deemed suitable by those of skill inthe relevant art.

In at least one embodiment, the one or more current contextualattributes includes a crowdedness level, and the system 200 may receivecurrent-crowdedness data into the situational module 402 from theambiance module 508, which may infer a level of crowdedness of a user'ssurroundings in any number of ways, some examples including detecting arelatively high number of nearby WCDs, detecting a relatively highnumber of distinct voices, detecting a relatively low amount of oxygenin an indoor environment, detecting a relatively high temperature in anindoor environment, detecting a relatively high amount of ambient noise,and/or the like. In at least one embodiment, the system 200 inferscrowdedness at least in part by analyzing image data and/or video data(that may show, e.g., a relatively high number and/or concentration offaces, people, and/or the like) captured by the video-recording module408 and/or one or more other cameras. And certainly other examples ofways in which crowdedness could be inferred could be listed.

Further with respect to determination of crowdedness level, thevideo-recording module 408 and/or another component of the system 200may detect the identities of distinct people, which could also orinstead be identified using voice-recognition technology, perhaps aspart of the functioning of the ambiance module 508. In at least oneembodiment, the video-recording module 408 detects a person and furtherdetects the person's mouth moving, indicating that the person isspeaking. In such an embodiment, the ambiance module 508 may correlatethe detected voice with the detected mouth movements. The ambiancemodule 508 may determine the identity of the detected person and includethat determined identity in metadata associated with the videorecording.

In at least one embodiment, the one or more current contextualattributes includes the detected identity of a distinct person. Theidentification may be facilitated by detection of the distinct person'svoice and/or image. The distinct person detection may be furthercorrelated (e.g., corroborated) with a calendar event that lists theevent's attendees. And certainly other implementations are possible aswell.

In at least one embodiment, the one or more current contextualattributes includes a stored calendar event, and the system 200 mayreceive stored-calendar-event data from the calendar module 506 via thelink 516. This stored-calendar-event data may indicate that thecorresponding stored calendar event has an associated scheduled starttime (e.g., 6:00 p.m. on the current date) that is less than a firstthreshold amount of time (e.g., 10 minutes) after the current time(e.g., 5:51 p.m.); i.e., the user is likely about to be late (assumingthat their current location is not the same as or sufficiently near thelocation of the calendar event such that the user is already there or islikely to be there on time, and/or the system 200 has received no otherindication that the user is present at or not going to be late to theevent).

In an embodiment, the system 200 receives time data into the situationalmodule 402 from the time module 504, which may include a clock and/or adata connection to current-time information, and/or the like. In othersituations, the stored-calendar-event data may indicate that thecorresponding stored calendar event has an associated scheduled starttime (e.g., 6:00 p.m. on the current date) that precedes the currenttime (e.g., 6:01 p.m.); i.e., the user is already late (assuming againthat their current location is not the same as the location of thecalendar event, and/or the system 200 has received no other indicationthat the user is present at the calendar event). In at least oneembodiment, the stored-calendar-event data indicates that thecorresponding stored calendar event has an associated priority levelthat exceeds a stored priority-level threshold. And certainly otherpossibilities could be listed.

At step 704, the system 200 sets a current value of a storedinterestedness threshold based at least in part on the one or moreidentified current contextual attributes. In at least one embodiment,the current value of the stored interestedness threshold exceeds animmediately preceding value of the stored interestedness threshold(i.e., step 704 may involve increasing the interestedness threshold forthe system 200). In at least one embodiment, the current value of thestored interestedness threshold is less than an immediately precedingvalue of the stored interestedness threshold (i.e., step 704 may involvedecreasing the interestedness threshold for the system 200). Moreover,the system 200 may implement its interestedness threshold using anynumerical scale, numerical values, and the like deemed suitable by thoseof skill in the relevant art. In some embodiments, the interestednessthreshold is set equal to an integer (e.g., 10); in other embodiments,the interestedness threshold is set equal to a midpoint between twointegers (e.g., 10.5). And certainly many other possible examples couldbe listed as well.

In some embodiments, the system 200 may carry out step 704 at least inpart by adjusting a particular value (e.g., a default value, a previousvalue in a substantially iterative implementation, or the like) in lightof the one or more current contextual attributes that were identified atstep 702. In general, such adjustments to the interestedness thresholdof the system 200 reflect that various contextual attributes oftenimpact a user's measured physiological parameters for reasons that areindependent of that user's level of interest in the scene at which theyhappen to currently be looking. Thus, in at least one embodiment,contextual attributes that tend to change physiological measurements inthe same ways that heightened interest does drive the interestednessthreshold up, while contextual attributes that tend to changephysiological measurements in ways that are opposite of the impact thatis typical of heightened interest drive the interestedness thresholddown.

Table 1 below lists a number of example adjustments that could be madebased on various contextual attributes identified by the system 200 atstep 702. In various different embodiments, one or more of the“INCREASE” indications in Table 1 could correspond to increasing theinterestedness threshold by 1 point, 2 points, and/or any other suitablevalues; and similarly for the “DECREASE” indications. And certainlyother examples could be listed.

TABLE 1 Corresponding Identified Adjustment to Contextual InterestednessAttribute Threshold Location = Home DECREASE Location = Work INCREASELocation = Amusement Park INCREASE Crowdedness = HIGH INCREASECrowdedness = LOW DECREASE Noisiness = HIGH INCREASE Noisiness = LOWDECREASE Time = 5:00 p.m. INCREASE Time = 10:00 p.m. DECREASE Day =MONDAY INCREASE Day = SATURDAY DECREASE Calendar Status = About to belate INCREASE Calendar Status = Late INCREASE Calendar Status =High-Priority Event INCREASE Calendar Status = Low-Priority EventDECREASE Accelerometer Status = Running INCREASE Accelerometer Status =Stationary DECREASE

In some embodiments, the system 200 increases the interestednessthreshold in response to making a determination that the user haspreviously canceled a sufficient number of system-initiated recordingsin a sufficiently recent amount of time in contextual situations thatsufficiently match the current set of contextual attributes. As such,and as but one example, the system 200 may increase the interestednessthreshold if the following inequality is true (where the CancellationThreshold could be any suitable threshold level):

$\frac{{Recordings}\mspace{14mu} {Cancelled}\mspace{14mu} {in}\mspace{14mu} {Preceding}\mspace{14mu} 300\mspace{14mu} {Seconds}}{{Total}\mspace{14mu} {Recordings}\mspace{14mu} {in}\mspace{14mu} {Preceding}\mspace{14mu} 300\mspace{14mu} {Seconds}} > {{Cancellation}\mspace{14mu} {Threshold}}$

Similarly, in some embodiments, the system 200 decreases theinterestedness threshold in response to making a determination that theuser has previously initiated a sufficient number of recordings in asufficiently recent amount of time in contextual situations thatsufficiently match the current set of contextual attributes. As such,and as but one example, the system 200 may decrease the interestednessthreshold if the following inequality is true (where the InitiationThreshold could be any suitable threshold level):

$\frac{{Recordings}\mspace{14mu} {Manually}\mspace{14mu} {Initiated}\mspace{14mu} {in}\mspace{14mu} {Preceding}\mspace{14mu} 300\mspace{14mu} {Seconds}}{{Total}\mspace{14mu} {Recordings}\mspace{14mu} {in}\mspace{14mu} {Preceding}\mspace{14mu} 300\mspace{14mu} {Seconds}} > {{Initiation}\mspace{14mu} {Threshold}}$

Moreover, it is noted that absolute numbers of canceled recordings oruser-initiated recordings could be compared with correspondingthresholds instead or in addition, and that the ratios shown on therespective left side of the above two inequalities are presented here asexamples and not by way of limitation.

In some embodiments, the system 200 decreases the interestednessthreshold in response to making a determination that the user previouslyinitiated a sufficient number of recordings in contextual situationsthat include detection of attributes associated with one or moredistinct people. As such, and as but one example, the system 200 maydecrease the interestedness threshold if the following inequality istrue (where the Detection Threshold could be any suitable thresholdlevel):

$\frac{{Recordings}\mspace{14mu} {Initiated}\mspace{14mu} {in}\mspace{14mu} {Preceding}\mspace{14mu} {Detections}}{{Total}\mspace{14mu} {Detections}} > {{Detections}\mspace{14mu} {Threshold}}$

At step 706, the system 200 obtains one or more current physiologicalmeasurements of the user. In at least one embodiment, the one or morecurrent physiological measurements includes one or both of a currentfacial expression and a recently assumed posture. The system 200 mayidentify facial expressions and/or recent changes in facial expressionusing the user camera 608 as described above. The system 200 mayidentify posture and/or recent changes in posture (e.g., recentlyassumed postures) using one or more accelerometers in, e.g., ahead-mounted wearable computer, though certainly other options could beimplemented by those of skill in the relevant art. Moreover, and as alsodescribed above, in at least one embodiment, the one or more currentphysiological measurements obtained by the system 200 as at least partof carrying out step 706 indicate one or more of a current respirationrate, a current heart rate, a current blood-pressure level, a currentlevel of skin conductivity, and a current body temperature.

Furthermore, with respect to one or more of the physiologicalmeasurements, the system 200 in some embodiments maintains multiplerunning averages. As one example, the system 200 may maintain threerunning averages of the readings of the heart rate sensor: a long-termrunning average of the heart rate of the user over the preceding hour, amedium-term running average of the heart rate of the user over thepreceding 5 minutes, and a short-term running average of the heart rateof the user over the preceding 30 seconds. As a second example, thesystem 200 may maintain two running averages of the pupil dilation ofthe user: a long-term running average of the pupil dilation over thepreceding 2 minutes and a short-term running average of the pupildilation over the preceding 10 seconds. And certainly other examplescould be listed involving different physiological measurements (i.e.,measurements of different physiological parameters), different numbersof running averages for different physiological measurements, differentdurations with respect to one or more of the running averages, and soon, as deemed suitable by those of skill in the relevant art.

At step 708, the system 200 derives an interestedness score based atleast in part on the one or more obtained current physiologicalmeasurements. In at least one embodiment, the system 200 carries outstep 708 at least in part by using historical data of the user'sphysiological measurements to normalize the values of the one or moreobtained current physiological measurements, in order to determine howhigh or low a particular reading is in comparison with how high thatuser's typical or average reading is for that parameter.

In at least one embodiment, the system 200 carries out step 708 at leastin part by referencing correlation data that maps sets of one or morevalues of physiological measurements to respective interestednessscores. Thus, in some embodiments, the system 200 maintains or otherwisehas access to correlation data (e.g., a data table) that maps values ofindividual physiological parameters to components of interestednessscores, and then sums those components when deriving an interestednessscore for a user; in some embodiments, the system 200 maintains orotherwise has access to correlation data that maps sets of values ofphysiological measurements to particular corresponding interestednessscores. In either case, a given set of correlation data may use rangesof particular values as opposed to exact measurement amounts, as deemedsuitable by those of skill in the art in a given context. In someimplementations, one or more thresholds (e.g., as delineations ofranges) may be maintained in data storage with respect to variousphysiological measurements

In some embodiments, with respect to one or more physiologicalmeasurements, the system 200 makes a determination as to whether eachsuch measurement is in a HIGH state or in a LOW state (using, e.g., onethreshold, two ranges, or the like). In some such embodiments, thesystem includes a certain number of points (e.g., 1, 2, 3, and/or thelike) in the derived interestedness score for each such measurement thatis determined to be HIGH; and in some such embodiments, the system 200either ignores each measurement that is determined to be LOW (a.k.a.NORMAL), or may explicitly add a certain number of points (e.g., 0, −1,−2, −3, and/or the like) for each such measurement that is determined tobe LOW. And certainly other example implementations could be listed.

As described above, in some embodiments, the system 200 maintains tworunning averages with respect to one or more physiological measurements;the example mentioned above was a long-term running average and ashort-term running average for the pupil dilation of the user. In somesuch embodiments, the system considers that measurement to be HIGH whenthe short-term running average exceeds the long-term running average bymore than 20% (or some other selected threshold); in all other cases,that measurement may be considered to be LOW (a.k.a. NORMAL). As above,the system 200 may add certain values (e.g., 1 point, 2 points, 3points, and/or the like) to the derived interestedness score for anyHIGH measurements of any such parameters. And certainly other examplescould be listed.

As also described above, in some embodiments, the system 200 maintainsthree running averages with respect to one or more physiologicalmeasurements; the example mentioned above was a long-term runningaverage, a medium-term running average, and a short-term running averagefor the heart rate of the user. In some such embodiments, the system 200considers that measurement to have undergone a SPIKE event when theshort-term running average exceeds the medium-term running average bymore than 20% (or some other selected threshold); and in some suchembodiments, the system 200 considers that measurement to be HIGH whenthe medium-term running average exceeds the long-term running average bymore than 10% (or some other selected threshold); in all other cases,that measurement may be considered to be LOW (a.k.a. NORMAL). The system200 may add a certain value (e.g., 2 points) to the derivedinterestedness score when such a measurement undergoes a SPIKE event,and may add a certain (same or different) value (e.g., 1 point) to thederived interestedness score when such a measurement is in a HIGH state;in all other cases, that measurement may be considered to be LOW (a.k.a.NORMAL). In this example as with the others, a LOW state could result inthe system adding a zero value or a negative value to the derivedinterestedness score. And certainly other examples could be listed.

At step 710, the system 200 compares the derived interestedness score tothe current value of the stored interestedness threshold, and at step712, the system 200 initiates video recording when the derivedinterestedness score exceeds the current value of the storedinterestedness threshold. As noted above, the function of initiatingvideo recording takes various different forms in various differentembodiments. In at least one embodiment, initiating video recordinginvolves transitioning a video-recording function from an “off” state toan “on” state. In at least one embodiment, initiating video recordinginvolves bookmarking one or more points in a video stream that is beingcontinuously captured (i.e., where a video-recording function is always(or substantially always) in an “on” state). In at least one embodiment,initiating video recording involves bookmarking one or more points in avideo stream that was manually initiated by a user. And certainly otherexamples could be listed as well, as known to those of skill in therelevant art.

In some embodiments, the system 200 derives a second interestednessscore, compares the second interestedness score to a second threshold,and terminates video recording when the second interestedness score doesnot exceed the second threshold, which in at least one embodiment isequal to the stored interestedness threshold, and which in at least oneembodiment is not. In at least one embodiment, the system 200 terminatesvideo recording responsive to receiving a video-terminate command via auser interface. In at least one embodiment, the system 200 terminatesvideo recording after a timeout period.

In at least one embodiment, the system 200 uses data from one or more ofthe situational module 402, the biometrics module 404 and the evaluationmodule 406 to create metadata associated with video data that iscaptured by the video-recording module 408. Metadata can include avariety of information such as, one or more interestedness scores, oneor more interestedness thresholds, data regarding the determinedcontext, readings from one or more sensors, examples of which can beviewed in FIG. 6, information generated by the evaluation module 406,and the like. In some embodiments the metadata can be associated withspecific parts of the video data (e.g., the interestedness score thatwas determined by the system 200 when a given video frame or set offrames (i.e., scene) was captured by the video-recording module 408).

In such an embodiment, the metadata may be used to filter parts of thevideo data based on the associated metadata. Likewise, the metadata maybe used to delete parts of the video data based on the associatedmetadata. In at least one embodiment, a user can use the metadata tofilter the video data to show only video that was taken when theinterestedness level was at or above a certain level. Similarly, in atleast one embodiment a user can use the metadata to automatically deletevideo that was taken when the interestedness level was at or below acertain level.

In at least one embodiment, the system 200 captures and storesvision-focus data that reflects one or both of where and at what theuser is looking at or about the time that they system 200 carries outstep 706. In at least one such embodiment, the system 200 highlightswhere and/or at what the user was looking in the captured video datafrom that time. As such, if the system 200 determined that a user wasinterested enough in something (e.g., a particular person's face) toinitiate video recording, the system 200 may also highlight in the videodata the likely trigger of that interest. And certainly other examplescould be listed.

Furthermore, various embodiments provide for user browsing and/orsharing of captured (and possibly highlighted) video data in the variousdifferent manners known to those of skill in the relevant art. Moreover,some embodiments, provide for (anonymously or non-anonymously, as deemedappropriate by those of skill in the relevant art for a givenimplementation or in a given context) aggregating data (e.g., at anetwork server) reflecting where multiple users were at a certain timewhen their respective associated systems all initiated video recordingdue to heightened interest levels of their respective users; suchfunctionality may be helpful in identifying occurrences of potentiallynewsworthy events; in some such embodiments, aggregation of capturedvideo data may occur as well, perhaps to inform the public and/or forone or more other purposes. And other examples could be listed.

Although features and elements are described above in particularcombinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that eachfeature or element can be used alone or in any combination with theother features and elements. In addition, the methods described hereinmay be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmwareincorporated in one or more non-transitory computer-readable media forexecution by a computer or processor. Examples of non-transitorycomputer-readable media include, but are not limited to, ROM, RAM, aregister, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic mediasuch as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media,and optical media such as CD-ROM disks, and digital versatile disks(DVDs). One or more processors executing software may be used toimplement at least in part an RF transceiver for use in anycommunication device such as a WCD, a WTRU, a UE, an access terminal, abase station, an RNC, a host computer, and the like.

1. A method comprising: identifying one or more current contextualattributes of a current context of a user; setting a current value of astored interestedness threshold based at least in part on the one ormore identified current contextual attributes; obtaining one or morecurrent physiological measurements of the user; deriving aninterestedness score based at least in part on the one or more obtainedcurrent physiological measurements; comparing the derived interestednessscore to the current value of the stored interestedness threshold; andinitiating video recording of a scene by a wearable computing devicewhen the derived interestedness score exceeds the current value of thestored interestedness threshold.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein theone or more current contextual attributes comprises a current location.3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more current contextualattributes comprises a crowdedness level.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the one or more current contextual attributes comprises anoisiness level.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or morecurrent contextual attributes comprises a stored calendar event.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein the stored calendar event has an associatedscheduled start time that is less than a first threshold amount of timeafter a current time.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the storedcalendar event has an associated scheduled start time that precedes acurrent time.
 8. The method of claim 5, wherein the stored calendarevent has an associated priority level that exceeds a storedpriority-level threshold.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the currentvalue of the stored interestedness threshold exceeds an immediatelypreceding value of the stored interestedness threshold.
 10. The methodof claim 1, wherein the current value of the stored interestednessthreshold is less than an immediately preceding value of the storedinterestedness threshold.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the one ormore current physiological measurements comprises one or both of acurrent facial expression and a recently assumed posture.
 12. The methodof claim 1, wherein the one or more current physiological measurementsindicate one or more of a current respiration rate, a current heartrate, a current blood-pressure level, a current level of skinconductivity, and a current body temperature.
 13. The method of claim 1,wherein deriving the interestedness score based at least in part on theone or more obtained current physiological measurements comprises usinghistorical physiological measurements to normalize the one or moreobtained current physiological measurements.
 14. The method of claim 1,wherein deriving the interestedness score based at least in part on theone or more obtained current physiological measurements comprisesreferencing correlation data that maps sets of one or more values ofphysiological measurements to respective interestedness scores.
 15. Themethod of claim 1, wherein deriving the interestedness score based atleast in part on the one or more obtained current physiologicalmeasurements comprises comparing a short-term running average of aphysiological measurement to a longer-term running average of thephysiological measurement.
 16. The method of claim 1, further comprisingderiving a second interestedness score, comparing the secondinterestedness score to a second threshold, and terminating videorecording when the second interestedness score does not exceed thesecond threshold.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the secondthreshold is equal to the stored interestedness threshold.
 18. Themethod of claim 16, wherein the second threshold is not equal to thestored interestedness threshold.
 19. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising terminating video recording responsive to at least one ofreceiving a video-terminate command via a user interface and an elapsingof a timeout period.
 20. A system comprising: a situational moduleconfigured to identify one or more current contextual attributes of acurrent context of a user; a biometrics module configured to obtain oneor more current physiological measurements of the user; avideo-recording module of a wearable computing device configured toinitiate video recording of a scene upon receipt of avideo-recording-initiate command; and an evaluation module configuredto: set a current value of a stored interestedness threshold based atleast in part on the one or more identified current contextualattributes; derive an interestedness score based at least in part on theone or more obtained current physiological measurements; compare thederived interestedness score to the current value of the storedinterestedness threshold, and transmit a video-recording-initiatecommand to the video-recording module when the derived interestednessscore exceeds the current value of the stored interestedness threshold.